Philip Seymour Hoffman

[Structo]

Always like his work.

Another star lost to drugs.

Hundreds of overdose deaths on the East coast.

Seems to be mostly powder heroin sometimes laced with Fentanyl,
a very strong synthetic opiate.
But as far as new reports go, Phillip's heroin didn't have that compound.

But still, he had over 60 bags of dope.
Why was he out buying more?

[NickC]

He was in Pirate Radio. Good film. Great soundtrack.

Yeah, it's awful when anyone OD's ..... be they famous or just regular folk.

May he Rest In Peace.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Sunday morning news reports, his friends found him nose down on the table, needle in his arm. Standard scene. Since then the "authorities" backtracking to the point of claiming smack wasn't the cause of death. Horse. Shit.

He may have been a very talented actor. People who do themselves in this way lose my respect. Some may disagree - fine - I'm entitled to my opinion.

All this on top of fentanyl fake H first in western Pa, now right in my own neighborhood. "Gimme the stuff that killed Elvis." Here's a one-shot .45, go out in the woods and enjoy yourselves. If that's not enough now the teen & 20's set reported selling and consuming pharmaceutical painkillers in shopping malls Long Island & Staten Island. And up the Hudson valley too, news report has a couple kids snagged flogging their Oxyclean pills less than a mile away. Well it's nothing new. Down the hill 50 yards from my house there's Crack Alley. Business has slowed down only a little because one apartment building was condemned and another taken over by Community Services soon to be packed with grey haired section 8 grannies and their cats instead of thugs - now there's an improvement!

Jeeze I'm all wound up now, need a good smoke... and there ain't any.

[Structo]

Well, around here for many years it has been the Mexican black tar heroin.

Usually very potent and a reason why some addicts OD because they underestimate the potency.

Cheap and potent, why addicts love it.

I knew a guy that battled heroin for years, back and forth between recovery and relapse.
Finally he did too much and a friend found him dead with a needle in his arm.

In a way I feel it was a blessing because he doesn't have to go through all the in's and out's of addiction anymore.
I know he was a believer.

But it is a travesty in the same moment because now we are without these gifted individuals.

Just reflect how many gifted people we have lost.

Be it a guitarist or other artist, how many things would they have
given us if their life had not been cut so shorty.

I have an addictive personality and I have had trouble with many substances.

It is a real battle for me to maintain.

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

[NickC]

Jerry Garcia was a so-called high-functioning heroin addict. He was also a sweet and lovable person, genuinely talented and caring about humanity.

The real crime is the way the drug-war puts folks right smack-dab (no pun intended) in the middle of all the crossfire.

Addiction is a sickness. It can drive otherwise decent folk to do horrible, inhuman things. The more illegal the substance, the more desperate their plight. And the greater the depravity many will sink to to feed the habit.

I'm not making excuses for the poor choices addicts make. But for crying out loud, can't we stop this madness? The war-on-drugs has been long over, and we lost. The cartels and the criminal elements within America won. And the more they win, the more heinous their operations as they get drunk on power.

We need a new strategy. One that does not sink billions of dollars in a futile effort to battle cartels that outgun, outsmart, and outwit us with superior technology. How? Simple, drugs at the inception point of production are dirt cheap. Decriminalize them and they stay dirt cheap. Remove the profit incentive and starve the cartels. Then spend the billions on police/military rounding them up and cutting their f#@&ing heads off ..... like what they've been doing to innocent sons and daughters of Americans alone the border. Hit them in the pocket book. Hurt them. Then strike the head from the serpent.

[Ang3lus]

the most dangerous and most sought after drug in the world is power.

and we are controlled by elements that do not care about humanity by one bit.

the only way heroin would be legal is if people would stop consuming alcohol, the number 2 drug, MUCH more destructive than heroin.

cause... lets face it, the rich will always look for another way to make money off the backs of everyone else.

imagine that, people would stop consuming alcohol, then you would start seeing ads about how small amounts of daily heroin can improve your life

[ToobNoob]

I'm not going to condemn Mr. Hoffman for how he died. He had his demons and he made some poor choices in dealing with them. I've never considered a celebrity's private life any of my business. All I know is that I just finished watching "Charlie Wilson's War" and Hoffman's Oscar-nominated performance as CIA agent Gust Avrakotos was absolutely brilliant. (Great film, too. Check it out.)

An immensely talented actor who will be missed. R.I.P. Phil.

[boots]

Drug abuse ain't what it used to be.

[Gaz]

Sunday morning news reports, his friends found him nose down on the table, needle in his arm. Standard scene. Since then the "authorities" backtracking to the point of claiming smack wasn't the cause of death. Horse. Shit.

He may have been a very talented actor. People who do themselves in this way lose my respect. Some may disagree - fine - I'm entitled to my opinion.

All this on top of fentanyl fake H first in western Pa, now right in my own neighborhood. "Gimme the stuff that killed Elvis." Here's a one-shot .45, go out in the woods and enjoy yourselves. If that's not enough now the teen & 20's set reported selling and consuming pharmaceutical painkillers in shopping malls Long Island & Staten Island. And up the Hudson valley too, news report has a couple kids snagged flogging their Oxyclean pills less than a mile away. Well it's nothing new. Down the hill 50 yards from my house there's Crack Alley. Business has slowed down only a little because one apartment building was condemned and another taken over by Community Services soon to be packed with grey haired section 8 grannies and their cats instead of thugs - now there's an improvement!

Jeeze I'm all wound up now, need a good smoke... and there ain't any.

[Gaz]

Wow, you know nothing about addiction. It is literally a disease. Do you loose respect for people who die of cancer as well?

Sunday morning news reports, his friends found him nose down on the table, needle in his arm. Standard scene. Since then the "authorities" backtracking to the point of claiming smack wasn't the cause of death. Horse. Shit.

He may have been a very talented actor. People who do themselves in this way lose my respect. Some may disagree - fine - I'm entitled to my opinion.

All this on top of fentanyl fake H first in western Pa, now right in my own neighborhood. "Gimme the stuff that killed Elvis." Here's a one-shot .45, go out in the woods and enjoy yourselves. If that's not enough now the teen & 20's set reported selling and consuming pharmaceutical painkillers in shopping malls Long Island & Staten Island. And up the Hudson valley too, news report has a couple kids snagged flogging their Oxyclean pills less than a mile away. Well it's nothing new. Down the hill 50 yards from my house there's Crack Alley. Business has slowed down only a little because one apartment building was condemned and another taken over by Community Services soon to be packed with grey haired section 8 grannies and their cats instead of thugs - now there's an improvement!

Jeeze I'm all wound up now, need a good smoke... and there ain't any.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Wow, you know nothing about addiction. It is literally a disease. Do you loose respect for people who die of cancer as well?

Fair enough shot Gaz. Perhaps it's because I've seen some cases up close, not just on TV or in the paper. People who I've worked with, some even lived in the same house. It IS an ugly scene. But I'm of the opinion that people CAN pull their socks up, get straight and keep it that way. Two examples, one bad, one good, and I could give many more but for brevity's sake I'll keep it to 2.

1. Just had an old acquaintance - def. not a friend - kick the bucket Jan 1. Must have been a helluva new years eve party. He was "proud to be a junkie". Total party animal. Purposely irresponsible. Not only that, he had a job in the local school district and claimed he sold drugs to kids and swapped drugs for sex. Somehow he never got caught. Respect? Fooey! Not for him.

2. Aging jazz guitarist, @ 77 years old. An amazing talent. And another old - this time friend. Late 50's to mid 60's he got on the junk. Because "everyone was doing it" in his talent circle. Plenty of name brand musicians who you would recognize in an instant. And by dint of will he got off and stayed clean to this day. There were no drug treatment programs then. It was go to jail or the grave and he did the right thing. Life is sweet and he's enjoying it. Him, I can respect.

There's all sorts of cases and I'm not 100% either way on the subject of this thread. However I AM very unimpressed by the shilly-shallying of the so-called authorities who claim they "still don't know" what killed the guy. Baloney to that. Also no respect to the law authorities in my area who know perfectly well who's dealing hard dope of all sorts and let them get away with it year after year. After all "ya hafta keep the game going."

What did it say on those T-shirts back in the 80's? In foot-high letters?

CHOOSE LIFE

We can find it within ourselves to do that. And reach out for help if you need it, it's there. Some of my customers got sorted out thru NA, some thru AA, and some both. How many times I've heard "I'd be dead by now if I hadn't." Those who think they're "bad ass" and that's their thrill, "don't tell me how to run my life," you know where they are headed.

Not just a matter of attitude, I understand addiction on a molecular level. Nerve cells set up receptors for opiates and other chemicals, and wreak havoc until they're satisfied. It takes a lot of will power to overcome that. A person who's trying to kick any of the 'bad habits' has to take the attitude of "I'm in charge", "I" being the prefrontal cortex, not every nerve cell in the body.

It's a complex problem and involves cultural acceptance as well as individual choice & control. Caffeine is "perfectly OK." Alcohol, definitely an addictive drug, not only accepted but taxed and a source of revenue for governments. Tobacco, slowly losing its acceptance but also taxed heavily.

With respect to YOU Gaz, you're entitled to your opinion and I'm happy you spoke up.

[JazzGuitarGimp]

2. Aging jazz guitarist, @ 77 years old. An amazing talent. And another old - this time friend. Late 50's to mid 60's he got on the junk. Because "everyone was doing it" in his talent circle. Plenty of name brand musicians who you would recognize in an instant. And by dint of will he got off and stayed clean to this day. There were no drug treatment programs then. It was go to jail or the grave and he did the right thing. Life is sweet and he's enjoying it. Him, I can respect.

I might suggest your friend wasn't addicted to the junk. Just because a drug is addictive, doesn't mean everyone who uses it will become addicted. Here's my thinking on this, using myself as an example:

I really enjoy wine. It is considered an addictive substance. I drink wine in moderation without any issues. Most months, I'll drink a half-bottle (sharing a bottle with my wife) two times. I don't think about wine during the couple of weeks that transpire from one occasion to the next. I am definitely not addicted to wine, even though I "use it".

Food on the other hand, is a constant struggle for me. I am definitely a food addict, and I am 130 Lbs overweight to prove it. Eating soothes me - it keeps me on an even keel. I use it when I am depressed, angry, happy, frustrated. Ever eat so much food at one sitting that your stomach hurts - then all you want to do is "sleep it off"? I have. I do. I don't know why I do it. I'll be 55 in a few weeks, and I don't carry the weight nearly as gracefully as I once did. I don't want to be overweight, in fact, I hate myself for it. But that doesn't matter enough to overcome it. I analyzed myself for years (both by myself and in counseling), literally years, and was never able to figure it out. I don't analyze anymore.

[cbass]

Sorry no offense meant

[HeeBGB]

Guys? This is getting a bit off topic. Please scale it back a bit before it gets out of hand.

RIP PSH!

[JazzGuitarGimp]

Sorry no offense meant

And none taken. I was just trying to offer a different perspective. I think the discussion of addiction is a worthy one indeed. Now I will heed HeeB's warning and shut up before I get the boot!